July is National Cleft & Craniofacial Awareness Month

You may not be aware, but July is National Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness and Prevention Month. In honor of this month, we would like to provide you with some resources that you may find helpful in either your research of this condition if you are considering adoption, or resources for your family if you have adopted a child with cleft lip and palate or other craniofacial conditions.

Cleft conditions are one of the top conditions we see in our China program (many are often repaired in China before a child comes home!) and often in our other programs as well.

There is a great need for families who are open to this condition, particularly in our China program.

Often families have fears of cleft lip and palate and are unsure of what these surgeries and treatment may look like or how to feed their little one with a cleft condition. The following website provides great resources for your family by providing the following:

Resources to help you locate top treatment teams within the U.S.

Resources and tips on how to feed a child with a cleft condition

Stories of families who have cared for children with a cleft condition

College scholarship opportunities for children with cleft conditions

Video instructions in English, Spanish, and Mandarin for how to feed your baby

Booklets and factsheets

To learn more about cleft lip and palate or to obtain resources listed above, please check out the Cleft Palate Foundationâ€™s website at www.cleftline.org for more information.

If your family is interested in speaking with our China staff about adoption opportunities for children with cleft conditions, please contact our office at 800.429.3369 or email us at china@awaa.org.